When California-based film producer Anisa Qureshi, whose credits include work on "3:10 To Yuma" and the critically acclaimed film "Waterborne," was scouting locations for her newest feature, "Splinterheads," she experienced what many in her position face on a regular basis. She had to find two important elements... a community that would welcome the idea of a film being shot in and around town and a local studio that could provide a home base of operations and offer enough space for everything from set construction to shooting interiors. She contacted a number of municipalities and studio facilities on the East Coast, but came up empty handed.

Then she reached out to the Long Island Film Commission who directed her to the Village of Patchogue, located on the south shore of Suffolk County and well-known as a community that has welcomed film production in the past. "The enthusiasm that the Mayor showed for the project and his promise to cooperate in every way, convinced me that we had the right situation in Patchogue," Ms Qureshi commented.

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Feature Film and Television production companies have recently been given an additional economic incentive to work on Long Island. The New York State Governor's Office for Motion Picture & TV Development has granted Qualifying Stage Status to Islandia-based Studio 57, one of the region’s most fully-equipped, state-of-the-art, HDTV production and post-production facilities. This designation allows for production companies working at our facility to take full advantage of a 30% New York State Tax Credit that can translate into significant cost-savings for any size production. For more details about how the New York State Film Production Tax Credit Program works, please go to http://www.nylovesfilm.com/tax/.

Since the announcement, a number of local and national production companies have inquired about utilizing Studio 57 and we are currently in negotiation with two feature film companies to provide studio space, equipment and collateral services for future productions. “Companies are always looking for ways to control production costs and come in on budget,” commented Madj Ebadi, Studio 57 president and CEO. “We already offer very attractive studio and equipment rental rates, but now with the added 30% tax credit, there’s an even greater incentive for people to use our facility.”

Studio 57 is comprised of over 10,000 SF of workspace that includes the production studio with complete overhead lighting grid, green screen hard cyc, white and black wraparound curtains, commissary, make-up, wardrobe and conference rooms, production offices and sufficient space for set construction and materials storage. The facility also has a state-of-the-art editing suite featuring the Quantel Eq system which is considered one of the most powerful available and includes superior color correction capabilities that are the industry standard. In addition, we have our own inventory of lighting and grip equipment, sets, props and camera packages available for rental. Studio 57 also provides ample parking for automobiles, trucks and tractor trailers as well as an adjacent ½ acre of cleared backlot which is ideal for outdoor production.

Convenient to and from all points on Long Island and midtown Manhattan, Studio 57 is located right off the South Service Road at Exit 57 of the Long Island Expressway. We are within the Hauppauge/Veterans Highway corridor, Central Suffolk County’s government, corporate and transportation hub and only minutes from Long Island MacArthur Airport, the LIRR Main Branch station in Ronkonkoma, numerous hotels, restaurants and retail centers. We are also convenient to Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports, Fire Island and The Hamptons.

"Long Island is an ideal location for film and television production,” said Mr. Ebadi, who is an award winning producer/director himself, “but limited studio space forces companies to work in the city and pay higher rates.” He continued, “The key to our success is that we have a first-class, HDTV facility that offers everything the city studios do, but at a much more economical rate."